Legal Question in Criminal Law in Kentucky

I can't even begin to describe how immensely sad your situation makes me, in particular how all of the adults in your life have failed you.

First, you did not begin dating a 23-year-old "boy." You began dating a 23-year-old man. You were a 16-year-old girl, also known in less polite circles as "jail bait." Just because the age of consent is 16 in Kentucky, does not mean that an adult dating a child is shielded from criminal liability, as I'm sure you both now realize. Unlawful transaction with a minor in the third degree applies to enticing a minor to engage in illegal behavior, for instance, drinking alcohol, or even simply inducing a minor to disobey his or her parents. The statute is KRS 530.070.

No, you cannot get this dismissed just because you finally turned 18. The crime was already committed. Putting his name on the birth certificate will not help him, and marrying him only to try to get him out of trouble is quite possibly the worst thing you can do for yourself and your child. If you want to help this man, who has fathered your child, stolen the remainder of your own adolescence, and thus limited your opportunities for advancement and education now that you are a young adult, then I suggest he retain an attorney to defend him against the criminal charge, which is a class A misdemeanor and punishable with up to 12 months imprisonment. If you want to help him, then you can cooperate with his attorney, as you will certainly be called to testify at trial.